Chapter 154: The Method of Proving the Dao
Rong Xie felt a headache coming on.
If Elder Bai had asked for something else, something practical, he would have found a way to do it. But at this crucial juncture, Elder Bai was still fighting for verbal dominance.
In a battle of tongues, Shen Bingsi would never lose to anyone. However, in this way, neither side would gain any benefit; they would just end up with mutual destruction.
“Cough, cough.” Shen Bingsi laughed while coughing, as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous. “I was wondering who taught that Shang Qian to be so eager for quick success and instant benefits, without a shred of Ruthless Dao cultivation. Listening to Elder Bai’s words today, I finally understand. Worthy of the Xuan Tian Sect’s Ruthless Dao Palace indeed—truly passed down in one continuous line.”
“You!” Elder Bai choked, anger rushing to his face. “Fine! Shen Bingsi, since you are so capable, go find the solution yourself!”
“Elder Bai…” Rong Xie wanted to say more, but he suddenly felt a heavy arm weigh down on his shoulder. Shen Bingsi had gotten off the couch at some point and come up behind him. “Forget it. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Rong Xie turned his head and shook it gently at Shen Bingsi, signaling him not to speak yet; he had a plan. Shen Bingsi was puzzled, but trusting Rong Xie’s decision, he took a step back and let Rong Xie handle it.
Rong Xie turned back and bowed again to the fuming Elder Bai. “Elder Bai, your request is a bit excessive. Putting yourself in others’ shoes, if your disciple encountered difficulties in the future and went to beg others, and they insisted he disparage you before helping, what would you think?”
“Hmph! If Shen Bingsi hadn’t repeatedly coerced our Ruthless Dao Palace while in the position of Adjudication Officer, how would I have made such a request? It is merely giving him a taste of his own medicine,” Elder Bai said, flicking his sleeve.
“You can’t say it like that. While Shen Bingsi was in office, you were the leader of the Ruthless Dao Palace, the Elder Bai whose word was law in the Xuan Tian Sect. But after Shen Bingsi stepped down, is your seat still stable?” Rong Xie sighed.
“This…” Elder Bai choked. “This is also because you and Shen Bingsi investigated the Lu family first!”
“Master—” Lu Yingqi wanted to speak, but Rong Xie cut in ahead. “Even so, while in office, Shen Bingsi never thought of using this matter to make things difficult for anyone. Now that Shang Qian has taken office, everything is different. Not only does he want to ground Senior Brother Lu, but he also wants to impeach you. Is this what you want to see?”
“Of course not!” Elder Bai became angry just mentioning Shang Qian.
“Exactly. So, to resolve the current predicament, the Adjudication Officer must be changed back as soon as possible. Helping Shen Bingsi overcome his difficulty is helping Senior Brother Lu and yourself!” Rong Xie said.
After Rong Xie finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Although the redness on Elder Bai’s face hadn’t faded, his emotions had calmed down. He stroked his beard, falling into deep thought.
Lu Yingqi gave Rong Xie an extra glance. If Elder Bai weren’t present, he would definitely have said, You and Shen Bingsi are indeed from the same household; both of your mouths are first-class sharp.
Xiao Zhi’s eyes widened round as he looked at Rong Xie in amazement, not expecting the situation to turn around so quickly with just a few words.
Shen Bingsi stared at the back in front of him with a burning gaze, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. The taste of blood surged in his throat, but the pain of backlash carried a few threads of sweetness.
“What you say… is not without reason.” Elder Bai said.
Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief. Good, although Elder Bai got hot-headed, at least he could listen to reason.
The atmosphere in the room relaxed considerably.
“Many thanks, Elder Bai.” Rong Xie said immediately. “If Elder Bai can help Bingsi overcome this difficulty, it will spread as a wonderful story. If Elder Bai needs anything done in the future, you can order Bingsi and me, and we will do our utmost.”
“Hmph.” Elder Bai stroked his beard, his gaze shifting over Rong Xie before saying, “The method to deal with a shattered Dao Heart is a secret not passed down outside this sect. Originally, I couldn’t tell you… You must first swear a poisonous oath never to tell a second person.”
“Me?” Rong Xie was surprised.
“Yes, you. This method cannot be known by Shen Bingsi either.” Elder Bai beckoned. “Come out with me. I will teach you alone. We will form a contract, and you cannot leak this secret.”
“But…” Rong Xie was confused. The method to solve a shattered Dao Heart couldn’t be known by the person involved? Then how to solve it?
“Cut the nonsense. Since I called you, I naturally have my reasons. Are you going to listen or not?” Elder Bai looked impatient.
“Rong’er.” Shen Bingsi reached out to tug Rong Xie’s sleeve.
Rong Xie reached back and squeezed his hand, signaling him not to worry, then said to Elder Bai, “Since the Elder puts it this way, this disciple will obey.”
Ruthless Dao Palace, Hall of Rectitude.
After using an invisibility spell to bring Rong Xie here and dismissing the disciples, Elder Bai formed a contract curse with Rong Xie ensuring the secret would absolutely not be leaked. Only then did he solemnly tell him:
“The sect’s only method to solve a shattered Dao Heart is—Kill the Wife to Prove the Dao!”
“…”
Rong Xie fell into a deep silence. He thought, After going around in such a big circle, it’s still the old method. So this method that everyone knew could actually be called a “sect secret not passed down”?
Seeming to sense Rong Xie’s thoughts, Elder Bai gave a dry cough and said, “You might already know this method, but our sect’s method is more detailed than what you know and can guarantee success on the first try!”
“Is… is that so?” Rong Xie thought of the encounter in his prophetic dream. Were there any steps to this thing? Didn’t one just go up and stab with a sword and be done with it? Shen Bingsi didn’t know the steps, and didn’t he succeed just the same?
Most importantly, Rong Xie had done so much to avoid the ending in the prophetic dream. If Elder Bai’s method was still to repeat the same disaster, then what was the point of all his scheming?
Perhaps because Rong Xie showed a dispirited expression, which stimulated Elder Bai’s pride, he spilled the key to the “secret method”: “The beauty of this method lies in… one doesn’t need to really kill the wife to prove the Dao! Without creating karma, it makes it easier to directly prove the Dao and ascend!”
“What?” Rong Xie instantly perked up, ignoring etiquette to grab Elder Bai’s sleeve. “Elder Bai, what is the method? Tell me quickly! …I mean, the Xuan Tian Sect is indeed worthy of being the number one sect in the world to have such a method with a hundred benefits and no harm. No need for Shen Bingsi to say it; if you ask me, Zhilan Ridge is number one in the world.”
If what Elder Bai said was true, Rong Xie genuinely believed it from the bottom of his heart—besides, saying something nice wouldn’t cost him a piece of flesh. The urgent task was to flatter Elder Bai into revealing the method.
“Heh heh, finally admitted it.” Elder Bai was clearly in a good mood. “But your admission isn’t enough; Shen Bingsi must admit it himself—I look forward to that day. Now, I will tell you the method.”
Elder Bai explained a long list of instructions on how to set up the array, how to cast the curse, and how to determine the auspicious time. Rong Xie memorized them all one by one.
“With favorable timing, location, and harmony, when the time comes, as long as Shen Bingsi’s little lover stands in the eye of the array, her soul won’t be able to escape the array’s range.” Elder Bai twirled his beard and smiled smugly. “After Shen Bingsi successfully proves the Dao, his power will advance greatly. At that time, we will combine our efforts to bring his little lover back. No karma will be left, and naturally, it will be easier when he ascends in the future.”
“This method…” Rong Xie paused. “It is simpler than I imagined. However, does this really not count as cheating?”
“How can it count as cheating?” Elder Bai’s eyes widened. “The Ruthless Dao is a path of cultivating the mind. Even illusions can allow one to realize the Dao, so why wouldn’t doing it for real work? As long as the person involved truly has a heart of severance at that moment, it is real. Therefore, this matter cannot be told to Shen Bingsi.”
Rong Xie now knew why Elder Bai had entrusted it to him instead of Shen Bingsi.
“Also Lu Yingqi and that servant boy,” Elder Bai said solemnly. “Especially do not tell those two.”
Rong Xie forced a smile. “Elder, rest assured. I will absolutely not tell a second person.”
“Of course. Restrained by the contract curse, you can’t say half a word even if you wanted to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have told you.” Elder Bai chuckled. Then, he leaned close to Rong Xie and asked in a lowered voice, “It’s not that this old Daoist is gossipy, but… do you know who Shen Bingsi’s little lover is? Just who is so capable to hook him into shattering his Dao Heart?”
“…” Rong Xie suddenly felt his jaw become as heavy as a thousand jun. Under Elder Bai’s probing gaze, he said, “Actually, this disciple feels there are still some issues with this method that need discussion. Has anyone in the Dao Palace successfully proved the Dao using this method before? Why have I never heard of it? And Elder Red, he—”
“Don’t mention that traitor Elder Red to me!” Elder Bai fumed. “Success? Of course, someone has succeeded! Do you, a trivial Lingjing Sect disciple, know the entire history of our Ruthless Dao Palace? If you don’t believe it can succeed, then don’t use it. Wait until Shen Bingsi’s Dao Heart shatters and he suffers the Five Decays of Heaven and Man; coming to find me then will be useless!”
“Elder misunderstood. I didn’t mean that.” Rong Xie hurriedly soothed Elder Bai. “Since someone has successfully proved the Dao, it means this method is feasible… It’s just that there might be some details in between. For example, even if the array can lock the soul, is there really a spell that can return the soul to the body? If the body is stabbed by a sword, can it still be saved even if the soul returns? And… what if Shen Bingsi doesn’t agree to kill that person?”
Elder Bai snorted coldly. “Stop dilly-dallying. Do you think a shattered Dao Heart is a joke? Without the determination to kill the wife to prove the Dao, how can one possibly break free from the demons of a shattered Dao Heart? If he can’t bear to part with his little lover, then he can just obediently wait for death. Don’t let him come and tarnish the lintel of our Ruthless Dao Palace. Our disciples here are all experts at cutting off love and desire, disciples who love themselves and stay clean—”
“Elder Bai, although I am only an outer sect disciple and don’t know the detailed history of the Dao Palace, but…” Rong Xie looked troubled. “I personally heard Madam Mei cursing in the street. She mentioned something about Hehuan Tower, something about Little Mei, and asked me to ask Elder Bai if he remembers breaking the love barrier back then…”
“Cough, cough!” Elder Bai coughed violently twice, interrupting Rong Xie. “Why bring up those boundless things? Don’t change the subject! The Dao Palace has only this one method. Whether you use it or not is your business. I’ve already told you. My business is done. You can go!”
Rong Xie sighed inwardly. He didn’t want to be so fussy either, but Elder Bai’s method had too many loopholes. He had to think about its feasibility. After all, the person who was going to get stabbed was him. Although he didn’t want Shen Bingsi to die, he didn’t want to die himself either.
“Elder Bai, I want to ask one more thing,” Rong Xie looked at Elder Bai. “Did Elder Red really use this method to deal with his shattered Dao Heart?”
Elder Bai probably hadn’t encountered someone as persistent as Rong Xie, or perhaps, sitting in a high position, he had never been pressed by a junior like this. A burst of humiliation turning into anger rushed to the top of his head. Elder Bai flicked his sleeve. “That traitor used a heretical method and has already fallen into the demonic path! Do you want Shen Bingsi to learn from him too? Even if it is despised by the righteous path, you don’t care?!”
“…”
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